School districts are increasingly instituting kindergarten retention policies and establishing readiness and pre-first-grade transition programs. Using readiness tests to classify, promote, and retain children is inappropriate and costly. Various high stakes tests are reviewed and alternative strategies suggested. Includes 18 references. (MLH)

Studied patterns of usage and factors behind parental choices of early childhood care and educational services for four- and five-year olds. Found that, regardless of type of service, most parents believed that young children experienced positive learning and developmental outcomes from participation and that, despite problems with each service…

Calls for new priorities in U.S. federal government that focus on children and deemphasize military spending. All government efforts to improve education will be worthless unless more attention and funding is devoted to children's readiness to learn. (LB)

The National Association of Elementary School Principals has developed standards designed to help schools and school districts meet their obligations to parents of young children. Four of the group's recommendations are offered. (DG)

Comments on Walker's article in this issue. Argues that Walker's study demonstrates the reliability of the Gesell Developmental Assessment (GDA) but leaves unresolved several key questions about the GDA's validity. (GLR)

Discusses readiness for kindergarten, noting all children enter kindergarten at different developmental stages. The article examines common characteristics of kindergarten children and appropriate educational goals. It also makes recommendations to help parents enrich their children's experiences before and during kindergarten. (SM)

As the community's richest information and learning resource center, the public library is an essential partner of parents and schools in achieving the national education goals. The public library could help reinforce teaching and assist parents in preparing young children for school. Adequate funding is necessary for public libraries' continued…

Most U.S. children have opportunity to participate in one year of publicly supported schooling prior to first grade. Children's school-entry age differs by as much as 18 months. Hours of participation varies widely, as do teachers' academic backgrounds. Rarely are teachers assisted by aides or principals with early childhood education training. To…

Investigates teacher receptivity to a proposal to relocate year 7 primary classes to secondary schools in the Western Australia Catholic school system. Receptivity was strongly and positively related to the perceived practicality of the change and moderately, positively related to the readiness of year 7 students for secondary school. (27…

During the 1960s, Dorothy Rich used paper cartons, tables, lamps, chairs, electric bills, and other paraphernalia of home life to construct "recipes" to help parents prepare their kids for achieving academic success. Rich's contemporary MegaSkills training program, developed at the Home and School Institute, is highly regarded. (MLH)

Findings by C. Ripple and colleagues justify a continued role for the federal Head Start program, but only if Head Start invests seriously and consistently in high-quality programs and ends the present fragmentation of services. Calls for effective technical assistance to programs and active collaboration with other agencies. (SLD)

Describes how Rosemary Wells's new books about "Edward Unready" explain children and readiness; explores the problems with her message, and suggests new endings that are more supportive of all children. Asserts that variability in development should not be mistaken for deficit, and recommends changing the focus from judging children to…

Considers the problems of teaching children at widely differing stages of development in the same class. Compares European practices of holding back slow developers with the English practice of strict age placement. Suggests that European methods reduce the need for individual instruction and increase the learning of the class as a whole. (DSK)

Preschool children in South Africa are adversely affected by poverty, child abuse, poor nutrition, insufficient primary health care, homelessness, violence, and inadequate funding for preprimary education. Positive signs include the establishment of a trust to support preschool education, an increase in the number of accredited educare courses,…

Used data from the 1993 National Household Education Survey to analyze factors influencing cognitive readiness among 1,710 preschoolers. Results indicated that for high-risk children, culture-related activities were associated with higher cognitive development levels and lower variability in cognitive readiness. Parental involvement was more…